Kidney Stones Causes, Symptoms, and Treatments

How To Get Rid of Kidney Stones

    Kidney stones (also called nephrolithiasis, kidney stones, or urolithiasis) are hard deposits of minerals and salts that form in your kidneys.

According nhs.uk, Kidney stones can develop in one or both kidneys, and are most common in people between the ages of 30 and 60.

Diet, excess weight, certain medical conditions, and certain dietary supplements and medications are some of the many causes of kidney stones.

Kidney stones can affect any part of your urinary tract — from the bladder to the kidneys. Sometimes, kidney stones form when urine becomes concentrated, allowing minerals to crystallize and stick to each other.

Removing a kidney stone can be very painful, but it usually doesn't cause permanent injury if it's identified in time.

You may need nothing more than taking painkillers and drinking lots of water to avoid kidney stones. In other cases, if the stone turns out to be lodged in the urinary tract, is related to a urinary tract infection, or is causing problems - surgical treatment may be required.

What Does A Kidney Stone?

Urine is made up of many dissolved minerals and salts. When your urine is high in minerals and salts, it can form stones. Kidney stones are formed from small, but can grow to be large, even fill the cavity structure in the kidney.

Some stones stay in the kidneys, and do not cause problems. Sometimes, kidney stones can enter the ureter, the tube between the kidney and the bladder. If the stone reaches the bladder, it can be circulated throughout the body via urine.

If the stone turns into a lodged in the ureter, it blocks the flow of urine from that kidney and causes pain.

Causes of Kidney Stone

Possible causes of kidney stones include drinking too little water, exercising (too much or too little), obesity, weight loss surgery, or eating foods with too much salt or sugar.

The infection and family records may be important in some cases.

Eating too much fructose has been linked to an increased risk of developing kidney stones.

Table sugar and high fructose corn syrup also contain high fructose.

Kidney Stone Early Symptoms

You can have a stone in your kidney for years and not even realize it is there. However, when it starts to move or gets very large, you may have symptoms. Symptoms of kidney stone include:

Pain in the lower back of your body. This pain may start out as a dull ache that may come and go. It can also be severe and cause a trip to the emergency room.

- Experiencing nausea and/or vomiting with pain.

- Frequent urge to pee.

- Urine that looks cloudy and has an unpleasant smell.

- Feeling pain when urinating.

- Unable to urinate.

- Seeing blood in your urine.

- Fever or cold.

Smaller kidney stones also do not cause pain or different symptoms. These "silent stones" pass your body in your urine.

How To Treat Kidney Stones (small size)

Mild kidney stones can cause pain until you get past them, usually taking 1 or 2 days.

Your doctor may also recommend nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to help with pain. To decrease symptoms, your doctor may also recommend:

- painkillers.

- Drink lots of water

- alpha-blockers (medicines to help the stones pass).

You may be advised to drink up to 3 liters of fluid throughout the day, every day, until the stones are gone.

To help your stone escape:

- drink water, but drinks such as espresso and tea are also taken into account.

- Stay away from soft drinks.

- add the sparkling lemon juice to your water.

- don't eat too much salt.

Make sure you are drinking enough fluids. If your urine is dark in color, it means that you are drinking less. Your pee should be pale.

You may be advised to continue to drink plenty of fluids, this is to prevent new stones from forming.

Treating Large Kidney Stones

If your kidney stones are too large to treat naturally, they will usually be removed surgically.

Surgery for treating kidney stones

The main types of surgery for kidney stone removal are:

- ureteroscopy

- Shockwave lithotripsy (SWL)

Percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL)

Your type of kidney stone surgery will depend on the size and location of your stone.

Ureteroscopy

Ureteroscopy is a method of treating kidney stones, and includes a passage of a small telescope, known as a ureteroscope, through the urethra and bladder, and up the ureter to the point where the stone is.

Ureteroscopy is usually done under general anesthesia, and the technique usually lasts one to three hours.

If the stone is small, it can be snared with an instrument and completely removed from the ureter. If the stone is large, or if the diameter of the ureter is narrow, the stone will need to be broken, which is usually done with a laser.

Once the rock is broken into smaller pieces, these pieces are removed.

Part of the ureteroscope may cause swelling in your ureter. Therefore, it is important to temporarily leave a small tube, known as a ureteral stent, in the ureter temporarily to ensure the kidneys are draining urine properly.

Shockwave lithotripsy

The most common kidney stone operation is shockwave lithotripsy.

With this procedure, stones in the kidneys and ureters are crushed into small pieces by means of a short duration high energy shock wave, which is generated outside the body by a lithotripter.

At the University of Michigan, shockwave lithotripsy is performed at Livonia Center for Specialty Care as an outpatient procedure.

More than 90% of kidney stones can be treated with shockwave lithotripsy, but there are certain situations that are not recommended such as: urinary tract infection, obstruction of the ureter close to the stone, patients on anticoagulant drugs, or bleeding disorders.

Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy (PCNL)

Percutaneous elimination of kidney stones (PCNL) is a keyhole operation. Under general anesthesia, the stone is passed through a small telescope through the side of your body straight into the kidney. The stone will be broken and the shards will be discarded.

Summary

The lifetime risk of developing a kidney stone is one in 10 for men and one in 35 for women.

A new method can remove kidney stones without the need for surgery.

Adequate fluid consumption, prevention of urinary tract infections, and specific treatment with medications will significantly reduce or stop new kidney stones from forming.